


Heavenly Peace

by Iheartgod175



Category: Odin Sphere
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Christmas Fluff, Eventual Romance, F/M, Victorian Attitudes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-08 23:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8868103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iheartgod175/pseuds/Iheartgod175
Summary: He was incredibly rich and handsome, but years of loneliness have made him bitter. She was very beautiful and possessed a serene, kindhearted nature, but circumstances have left her homeless and destitute. Their worlds were incredibly different, and on any normal time of the year, they wouldn't have met each other. An accident and a kind offer quickly changes all that. Victorian AU. Cornelius/Velvet.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VegabondGloria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VegabondGloria/gifts).



_December 14th, 1867_

It was snowing heavily when Cornelius walked out of the pet store, a bag of rabbit food in hand. He turned towards the kind shop owner, the one that the citizens referred to as Master Croix, and tipped his hat to the old man. "Thank you again for the delivery, sir. I wish you the best."

"You too, Sir Cornelius. Merry Christmas," Croix replied.

Cornelius' smile became noticeably thinner. "Yes...Merry Christmas to you, too, sir," he answered. He closed the door to the shop quickly then, the bell over the shop jangling loudly as he did so.

No sooner had he turned around than he heard the sounds of hooves crunching on wet snow. He sighed in relief and pulled his red scarf up to his nose in an attempt to get some warmth. His close aide, Urzur, had a frightful habit of carrying out orders twenty minutes later than asked. Cornelius supposed that the wizened old man had a strange sense of humor—or that he probably disliked him.

Not that he was terribly fond of the man himself, but the possibility wasn't surprising to him in the least.

The driver pulled up to a stop in front of him, sending dirty ice spraying on the wall of the store. The driver, a small dwarf of a man with a flowing grey beard, nodded at him.

"Forgive my tardiness, sire," he said. "I was ready to take the main path, but Mr. Urzur insisted that I take a detour."

Cornelius sighed as he walked up to the door. He had heard that one before. "I see," he said. Climbing inside the carriage, he looked up at his driver. "Head straight for the mansion, please."

"Very well, sire." As soon as Cornelius had come in, Angus got the horse going with a snap of his reins, and they were soon on their way through the snow covered streets.

Cornelius pulled down the scarf that was covering his mouth, exhaling softly. It was no warmer in the carriage than it was outside, but at least he was protected from the biting wind. In all truth, he wasn't really looking forward to going home, but he wasn't looking forward to spending half of the night out doing charity work either. It was far too cold for that.

The first few lyrics of "Silent Night" filled his ears and he looked outside to see a small group huddled together outside in the snow, braving the oncoming storm. It was a family with three children, the smallest one looking no older than five. Despite the wind stealing their voices away, and how absolutely cold they looked, they looked happy.

For a split second, Cornelius envied them. He envied their happiness, despite the bitter chill of winter. This season that most people looked forward to, this season that brought so many joy...he felt none of that. He never had, not since six years ago. Those people looked forward to spending time with their loved ones during the holidays.

But not Cornelius. He had no loved ones—his mother was long gone, his father had passed on six years ago and he hardly had any friends. Aside from his servants, he had no one other than his pets to keep him company. And to ease his loneliness, he'd thrown himself into his work, working on building up the business his father, Edmund, had left him. He didn't have to worry about ever going broke; the Titanian Royal Bank was prospering, and probably would continue to prosper for some time.

But work did nothing to ease his loneliness. In fact, it served as a painful reminder of how he needed to get rid of it.

Cornelius leaned back in the carriage and sighed. What was taking so long to get back? He started to open up the window, ready to shout to the driver, when a jerk of the carriage sent him crashing against the back wall of it. The driver shouted orders to the horses, and Cornelius once again was sent against the wall of the carriage as it turned sharply to the right. Cornelius' face collided with the window, sending stars into his vision. The next thing he knew, there was a scream, a loud crunch, and the loud whinnying of horses.

After a few terrifying seconds, the carriage jerked to a stop, almost sending Cornelius into the other side. Rubbing the side of his face, he cracked open his eyes. "Ugh...Angus...?!" he shouted.

The sound of feet hitting snow filled his ears. "Sire!" The door flew open, and in came a flurry of snow. Angus poked his head in a moment later, his blue eyes stretched wide. "Are you alright, sire?!"

"Ugh...mostly," Cornelius said, rubbing his head. "Nothing to worry about. What happened?"

"We slid on a patch of slick ice, sire," Angus replied. "I was tryin' to get the horses under control as best I could, and thankfully we avoided the carriage almost tippin' over."

A very loud groan filled both of their ears. Cornelius paused, and looked at Angus as he peered outside to see what was going on. When he turned back to Cornelius, his face was grave. "What is it, Angus?" Cornelius asked.

"A woman..." Angus sounded breathless. "S-She's lying on the ground, bleedin'-"

Cornelius didn't wait long for a longer explanation. He made his way out of the carriage, almost slipping and falling flat on his face as he got on the slick streets. "Sire, be careful!"

"I will be!" Cornelius carefully made his way over to the woman, treading lightly across the ice. Snow flew into his eyes and he did his best to keep the flakes out, shielding his eyes with one hand. He stopped a few inches away from her, and fought to see her through the flurry of snow.

She was stretched out on the ground, long tresses of blonde hair spread out behind her like a curtain. Her black and red dress was torn and her exposed midsection had a nasty gash. Cornelius' eyes narrowed. Was this from the carriage? Or possibly somewhere else?

One thing was for sure—this young woman needed help, immediately. He turned to Angus, who was still standing by the horses. "Angus! I could use your help!"

* * *

_A little while later..._

The doors opened to the Titanian Mansion opened with a slam. Urzur arose from his chair at the sound and hurried down the hall to greet his young master. They certainly took longer than he expected for them to arrive, he thought. Clearing his throat, he said, "Greetings, sire. Would you like me to prepare a fire for you or-"

He paused when Cornelius walked in, flanked by a few anxious maids. In the young man's arms was a woman who appeared to be his age, her long gold hair almost reaching the floor. Blood dripped from her dress onto the carpet. Urzur grimaced and then looked at Cornelius. "This is most unexpected, sire."

"There was an accident," Cornelius explained hurriedly. "The carriage slipped on ice and it ended up hitting her."

There was no denying that. But looking at the girl's clothes—her top, her exposed midriff and her stockings—gave Urzur an idea as to who she was. His lip curling in disgust, Urzur said, "You were better off leaving her, sire. She's a tramp."

"And how did you come to that conclusion, Urzur?" Cornelius asked, walking with one of his servants to the upstairs bedroom. His voice was calm, but Urzur knew the boy well enough to tell that he was trying to keep his temper.

"Well, sire...there's a way that _certain_ women dress to get attention," Urzur said slowly, following him upstairs. "She's no better than a commoner. Worse than that, even."

Cornelius paused at the top of the stairs and looked back at Urzur. His blue eyes were hard as diamonds. "Whether she works at a brothel or not is none of my concern, Urzur. Her life, at the moment, is," he replied. "And I'm going to save it, despite your objections. I'd like for you to call for the doctor at once, Urzur. And _no delays_ this time."

Urzur shook his head as Cornelius and the other servants walked upstairs. Despite the disgust he felt towards that woman, he knew better than to disobey a direct order. "Right away, sire..."

* * *

Cornelius stood outside of the guest bedroom for a long time, leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest and fingers drumming his upper arm impatiently. His servants were currently dressing the woman's wounds, and one of them had required the removal of her clothing to do so. Although he wanted to make sure she was alright, he was a gentleman and wasn't about to look upon a naked woman, whether she was awake or not.

She was lucky to be alive at all, from what Angus had told him. _She must've been the one I heard when we were sliding across the ice_ , he thought. His blue eyes narrowed. How awful...she probably didn't see the carriage coming at her until it was too late. And there were other mysteries to her as well--what she did for a living was none of his business, but the discovery of additional injuries to her body made him more concerned. What kind of job does she have? And where did she get those gruesome bruises from?

The door opened downstairs, and Cornelius heard the faint sound of Urzur's voice. Another low chuckle filled the air and someone else said, "Ah, I see. I'll see to her immediately, old friend."

Cornelius got up from the wall when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He walked to the landing of the stairs, just as Urzur rounded the corner with the doctor in question. He wore a red suit with a black suit vest and a white dress shirt. He stroked his long, forked beard with gnarly fingers. He looked up at Cornelius then, and his amber eyes gleamed. 

"Ah, Mr. Cornelius. I trust that things are going well for you?" the doctor said, making his way upstairs. 

"I'm fine, Skuldi," Cornelius replied coolly. Ignatius Skuldi, the town doctor, was renowned for his successful results as well as his deals with unsavory people such as Odin and Onyx. In some ways, the man reminded him much of Urzur--he wouldn't have been surprised if the two were related somehow. "Thank you for getting here as soon as possible. The patient is right through here."

"Ah, I see," Skuldi said. "She's always getting into scrapes like this, you know; it's one injury after the other with her."

This made Cornelius' eyes widen in surprise. "Y-You know her?"

Skuldi nodded. "She's a girl from the south side of town. Surely you've heard of Valentine's Alley, haven't you, sire?" he asked.

"Yes," Cornelius nodded, his reply grave. He'd heard many stories about that place and its people. Granted, most of it was from word of mouth, but even he knew to avoid that place. "I wonder what she was doing far out here?"

"Who can say?" Urzur said. "Perhaps she was tossed out after one of her clients was done with her."

"Urzur, still your tongue," Cornelius snapped, glaring at the old man. 

Urzur backed down, albeit reluctantly. "Forgive me, sire...."

"Well, if you will excuse me, gentlemen, I will see to this girl," Skuldi said. He walked inside the room, the door shutting behind him. 

"Perhaps he can give me some more details on who she is..." Cornelius explained.

"Sire, if I may say so, I hope you don't get too attached to this girl," Urzur said. "She won't stay here very long."

Cornelius turned on his heel and walked down the stairs, but not before saying in a sharp tone, "We shall see about that."

* * *

Pain exploded into Velvet's body as she regained consciousness. The world swirled around her in a blurry haze, and in front of her was someone-or something, she thought with a start. As her vision began to clear and her eyes began to refocus, her surroundings became clearer to her; she was in a room--a very nice one by the looks of it, with lavender wallpaper, oak furniture and a mirror, and a small closet. 

And sitting in front of her was a man that she recognized immediately--she should've figured him out from the bald head alone, she mused. A soft groan escaped her lips as the situation dawned on her that once again, she was in Skuldi's care.

The doctor turned to face her, his lips curled into a smile. It was meant to be warm, but Velvet couldn't picture any warmth coming from him. "Well, you've certainly gotten yourself into a scrape, haven't you, Princess?" he said.

"Don't call me that," she snapped, her voice hoarse. Clearing her throat, she said, "This isn't your office, is it? Where are we?"

"Looks like you've gotten lucky. You're in the home of one of the richest lords in town," Skuldi said. 

"Who is it this time?" Velvet asked.

"It's Cornelius," Skuldi said. 

"Cornelius?" Velvet repeated. "You are referring to Cornelius Callaghan, aren't you?"

 _"_ Yes," Skuldi replied. "I figured you'd heard of him."

"There isn't a person who hasn't heard of him. He runs the city banking enterprise...I never thought I would end up in his presence of all people," Velvet replied."How did I end up here?"

"That is what I would like to know," Skuldi said. "What do you remember from the accident?"

Velvet's eyes lowered as she recalled the events from earlier. She'd rushed out of the tavern in a hurry, half-stumbling in the snow, her grandfather after her and screaming bloody murder. It had started snowing, lightly at first, and then furiously; she'd wandered around in the streets, aimlessly, with nowhere to go. She'd been about to seek shelter when she'd heard the screams of the horses, the skidding of wheels on ice, and had seen the body a carriage flying towards her. 

"It had happened so fast that I had no time to move," she explained. "It hit me, and I was knocked under it. Everything went black afterwards."

"And those other injuries of yours," Skuldi said, motioning to her torso. "Are those also from the carriage?"

"No." The violet in her eyes darkened. "From my grandfather."

Silence filled the room for a few moments. Then, a low cough filled the room. "Pardon me...I don't wish to be rude, but I just wanted see if she was awake."

Skuldi turned around to face whoever had entered the room. "Ah, Mr. Cornelius. I didn't hear you knock on the door," he said.

Velvet looked up then as Cornelius walked inside, his smile sheepish. He had shoulder-length blond hair, and wore an orange and black vest over a white dress shirt with a black tie. His blue eyes were warm and friendly as he looked at her. "Forgive me for interrupting your conversation," he said. "But I was so anxious about this entire situation that I couldn't help it."

Velvet offered up the best smile she could manage. "It's alright. Thank you for your concern, Mr. Callaghan," she said.

Cornelius' smile thinned out into a warmer one. "I do believe I haven't gotten your name," he said. 

"Ah, it's Velvet. Velvet Reagan," she introduced. 

"Reagan, huh?" There was another question he had on his tongue--she could see that in his eyes, and the way his lips pursed into a small frown--but he thought better of it and said, "Well, Miss Reagan, I do feel awful for what happened earlier today. To make up for it, I'll allow you to stay as a guest in my home so you can recover from your injuries."

Velvet's eyes widened in surprise; she'd half-expected him to throw her out on the streets by now. Skuldi looked just as surprised, turning towards Cornelius suddenly. "Mr. Callaghan, I-"

"Skuldi, you saw her yourself. Miss Velvet is in no shape to go anywhere right now. If she has to leave, then I say that she should leave after Christmas, at the very least," Cornelius interjected. "If we let her leave, or move her somewhere else, we could aggravate her injuries. She's suffered enough--let's not make her suffer anymore."

"That is true," Skuldi said, scratching his beard nervously. "But-"

"Honestly, you're a doctor, you should know that!" Cornelius said. He turned towards Velvet, and upon seeing her surprised face, felt his face grow warmer. "Sorry about that...I didn't mean to raise my voice like that." He cleared his throat. "So, what do you say, Miss Velvet? Are these arrangements agreeable for you?"

It didn't take Velvet long to make up her mind--being here was far better than another night out in the harsh, cold streets...or worse yet, back at  _that place._ "Absolutely. I am in your debt, Mr. Callaghan," she said.

"Oh, please, call me Cornelius. Mr. Callaghan was my father," Cornelius said, smiling. "Would you like for me to have some food brought up for you?"

"I would like some soup," Velvet answered.

"I'll call Maury right away and have him prepare it for you," Cornelius answered. "I have a few things to attend to, so the rest of my servants shall attend to you. But do let me know if you need me personally."

Velvet smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Calla-I mean, Cornelius," she replied, quickly correcting herself. 

The young man smiled that same warm, understanding smile, and he turned and walked out of the room. 

Skuldi turned to face her, the look on his face incredulous. "Are you out of your mind? You know what will happen if you stay here!" he hissed.

Velvet frowned. "As an old friend of my grandfather's, I'm surprised you care about what happens in my life at all, Skuldi," she said.

"Rest assured, I would much prefer staying out of your family's affairs. But when the granddaughter of Valentine is a recurring patient of mine, I cannot help but be concerned," Skuldi replied. "And looking at your injuries, I can see that they have reopened from the last beating he gave you." He frowned. "Velvet, for your own safety-"

"You are the last person who can talk to me about safety," she interrupted. "If you're so concerned for my safety, then why didn't you do anything the last time he came in and dragged me out? Or the first time he dragged me out?"

Skuldi sighed. "My hands are tied, just as yours are, Velvet. The man I once called a friend is gone, lost in a state of grief," he said. "As much as I would like to help, I fear that he may very well kill us both. Learning that your brother escaped without his notice infuriated him. But to learn that his long-time friend aided in both escapes...I fear that it will break him."

"I know. But I cannot stay there any longer," Velvet answered, "not after what he asked me to do." She looked up at Skuldi, her violet eyes as hard as diamonds. "When you leave here today, Skuldi, tell no one of my whereabouts, no matter what they offer you."

Skuldi scratched his beard. "Well, that is a tricky request-"

"Please, Skuldi," Velvet replied. "You are literally the only person I can count on for help."

Again, silence filled the room. After a few seconds, Skuldi nodded. "Very well, Velvet. I shall do my best to uphold my word." He got up from the bed, gathering his bag. "I'll be back in the morning to check on you. But for now, do get some rest and don't aggravate your injuries." He turned to walk out of the room.

"Skuldi," Velvet called. When the older man turned around, she gave him a small smile--a tired one, but one that showed her gratitude. "Thank you."

Skuldi looked rather surprised at this, but it eventually relaxed into a smile of his own. "You're very welcome, Velvet," he replied, placing his hat on his head and walking out of the room, closing the door behind him. 

Velvet relaxed, closing her eyes for a moment.  _The next few days should turn out interesting..._

* * *

Hidden away in the shadows of the house, Urzur leaned against the wall, scratching his beard in thought. Skuldi had been a fool to leave the door to the guest bedroom open, and now the mysteries of his master's new guest were out in the open. Just from looking at her, he'd assumed she was from Valentine's brood--the blond hair and the violet eyes were a dead giveaway--but her last name, Reagan, had brought open another theory.

"So not only is she related to that madman who was once a respected political figure," he mused, "but she could also be related to the Chancellor?"

His musings were interrupted when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He made his way over to to the top of the landing as Maury, the chef, came up the stairs. He was a short, but large young man, with a mess of dark brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and dark blue eyes. He looked up to see Urzur and almost dropped his tray of soup. "Oh, goodness, Mr. Urzur! You startled me!" 

"Anything startles you in this household, Maury," Urzur retorted. "Do be careful with that soup; the master wouldn't like it if you spilled it all over his...guest."

Maury frowned as Urzur walked down the stairs. "I know that! I've been a waiter for years!" He grumbled as he carried the large tray of food up the stairs. "Fussy old man..."

Urzur would've retorted with a comeback of his own, but his mind was running on other things. His lips curled into something that was not a smile.  _The next few days are going to be interesting..._

**Author's Note:**

> Even though it's a Christmas fic, I still find myself putting in angst and drama. Why am I not surprised? :3 I promise that this'll be a one-shot. Or a two-shot. Who knows? I'll probably draw a picture of what these two look like in the future as well as what everyone else looks like as well. 
> 
> There are a couple of things in this story: 
> 
> The idea of Cornelius owning pet rabbits was inspired by my friend StarCandyCosmos (who goes by bravefairy on Tumblr). She drew a picture of Cornelius with a pet rabbit and it just looked too cute. 
> 
> Edmund's death resulted in Cornelius having no family. Oswald's not in this story, so unless I decide to do a full-blown AU, Cornelius never learns about his cousin. 
> 
> The Three Wise Men's portrayals are completely different. Urzur's more of a straight up jerk than he is the game. I was watching a lot of "Maria la del Barrio" (and I mean A LOT), and Soraya kind of inspired my portrayal of Urzur. He's still going to be the conniving schemer that he is in the game, but much more rude. By contrast, however, Skuldi (or as he's known, Ignatius Skuldi) is a heck of a lot nicer than he is in the game. He's still got a sneaky, greedy side, but here he's a friend of Velvet's family, and his concern of Valentine's psyche is what drove him to help Ingway escape, as well as what drives his concern for Velvet. Beldor is still the nastiest of the trio, though, but he'll show up later down the line. 
> 
> Here's the original prompt if you're interested: 
> 
> Victorian AU: Person A is wealthy but has no family and is usually lonely during Christmas time. On the way home one evening, their carriage slips over the icy streets and hits Person B, who is homeless and freezing. Person A feels horrible about hitting them so they take them home and fix them up as well as insist that they at least stay until after Christmas. Person A dresses Person B and feeds them and treats them with kindness and they slowly fall in love as Person B heals, but then Person B overhears the maids and butler speaking about how Person B is taking advantage of Person A, so Person B leaves. Person A is heartbroken and desperate to find Person B and eventually does find them on Christmas eve and brings them home right away, but Person B is terribly sick from living out on the streets in the snow and the doctor says they may not make it. Person A stays with Person B through the whole night of Christmas eve and softly sings Christmas carols to them until morning. Christmas morning comes and Person B’s health starts to recover and they both celebrate the Christmas miracle.


End file.
